Sewing cabinet



April 15, 1941. `A. R. CARLSON 2,238,033

SEWING CABINET Filed Jan.' 27, 1939 W 193 I if; 5,0128 M 45 zdl I Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT o1=1=1cEy ananas sawmc caarNE'r anni a. cannon, marroni, m. Application Jnnnnry zu, 1939. snm Nn. 253,104 11 claims. (ci. sis-1st) This invention relates to sewing cabinets and the like.

'I'he principal object of my invention is to provide a sewing cabinet in which the spools of thread and yarn as well as the buttons, needles, and'other sewing paraphernalia are more quickly and readily accessible than in other sewing cabinets with which I am familiar, and one in which there is less danger or likelihood of getting things disarranged. l l

The salient feature of the present cabinet is the provision of a tray on which the spools and other articles are kept, which forms the bottom of a slidable drawer carried on extensible guides so that the whole tray can be extended from the cabinet, supported on the guides, thus making everything easily and quickly accessible, the drawer front being hinged to .the front edge of the tray to swing outwardly to a horizontal extended position serving as a convenient shelf or ledge on which to place scissors and other articles while sewing.

An important object of this invention is the provision of an improved fall support in connection with the hinged drawer front, having a slotted keeper plate on the side of the tray in which a stud on the end of the fall support arm is slidable from a position in one offset end of the slot, supporting the drawer front in vertical po'sition, to a position at the other end of the slot, supporting the drawer front in lowered extended position, the keeper plate having in conjunction therewith a spring meansffor releasably locking the stud in the offset end of the slot, and another spring means for cushioning the movement of the stud toward the other end of the slot, whereby the drawer front is securely held in vertical position for sliding movement of the tray in or out as a drawer vwhile permitting quick release of the drawer front when it is to be swung downwardly to extended position, the iinal movement of the drawer front being cushioned by the spring means last named so as to make for nicer operation and avoid strain upon the hinges.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved sewing cabinet showing the tray extended and the drawer front swung down to serve as a shelf;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 showing the tray moved in and the drawer front swung up to vertical position;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional detai1 on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 ;i

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional detail on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and l Fig. 5 is a detailed view of the spring combination used with the fall support, showing the fastening screw on the tray in section and also the stud on the fall support.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

The cabinet 6 has the tray 1 with which my invention is particularly concerned arranged to be housed in the lower compartment 8 beneath a drawer S in the upper compartment of the cabinet. The drawer 9 provides storage space for uniinished work and sewing materials as well as other articles. The top Il is iixed so' that the cabinet can -be used as an end table or commode and the lamp o'r other article set thereon need not be disturbed to have access to the sewing materials. In other words, the tray l can be extended or returned and the drawer 9 can be opened or closed at will. A special drawer front i Il, which preferably matches the appearance of the front of the drawer S, is hinged as at l2 to the front edge of the tray 'l to swing from a vertical position, in which it is adapted to close the front of the cabinet compartment 8 as indicated in Fig. 2, to a lowered, substantially horizontal position, extending outwardly from the tray to serve as a convenient shelf or ledge, as shown in Fig. yl. A rigid, upright back wall I3 on the tray closes the iront of the compartment 8 when the tray is pulled out as in Fig. l, so that the interior of the compartment is not exposed and the cabinet presents a neater appearance. There are specially constructed extensible guides .Il for supporting the tray 1 from the bottom l5 of the cabinet in extended position, and also a novel fall support I'B for supporting the drawer front -I in its horizontal position. The details of these guides and fall support are described later. At this point, I wish to call attention to the marginal frame portion I1 of the tray on top of which are spindles It in evenly spaced relation along the front and opposite sides of the cabinet for spools I-S of a large variety of threads. The spindles 20 provided in evenly spaced relation along the back of the tray are for spools 2l of yarn and are accordingly placed farther apart. Obviously this arrangement of spindles is of advantage because it permits the housewife to arrange the spools according to color and kind of threads and yarns so that she can get the kind of yarn or thread wanted without having to search for it; the particular spool desired is instantly visible. Another advantage is that the spools more or less shield the rest of the tray, and youngsters playing about are apt to be attracted by the fanfare of color of the threads and not think of reaching into the pockets 22 where buttons, needles, and other small articles are kept, or into the larger pocket 23 where scissors and other things are kept. Smaller children who cannot reach any higher than the spools are prevented thereby from getting access to the pockets V22 and 23 and are therefore not so apt to take needles or scissors from the tray. When the drawer front I I is extended from the front of the tray, it serves as a convenient place to put scissors and other articles used during sewing. I would add that while the present cabinet was designed primarily with a view to use as a sewing cabinet, it is obvious that with slight reconstruction of the tray 1 to suit other uses and the storage of different articles, a cabinet of the type herein disclosed would be found handy for various other purposes.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the guides I4, of which there are two, one under each side of the tray 1, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, are made of sheet metal formed to a double channel or S cross section as shown in Fig. 4. In that way there are two webs 24 and 25 for attachment of each guide to the bottom I of the cabinet and the bottom of the tray 1, respectivelyl Longitudinal slots 26 and 21 in the webs 24 and 25 respectively receive screws 28 and 29 entered in the bottom I5 of the cabinet and the bottom of the tray 1 as clearly appears in Fig. 4. Washers 30 are provided under the heads of these screws to give broader engagement on the webs 24 and 25 alongside the slots so that the guides I4 will slide fairly easily with respect to the tray and cabinet. There are two screws 25 in fore and aft spaced relation for slidably attaching each guide to the\cabinet bottom I5 and these two screws, in the case of each guide, are near the open front of the cabinet 5 so that the guides can slide out more than half their length and still be adequately supported for l good support of the tray 1. There are also two screws 29 in fore and aft spaced relation on the.

tray 1 for each guide, located near the back of the tray, which move in the slots 21 so that the tray can slide with respect to the guides a distance equivalent to more than half the length of the guides. In that way the whole tray is extensible, or at least enough so that the back I3 thereof comes flush with the front of the cabinet as illustrated in Fig. 1. The upwardly extending ilange 3| and downwardly extending flange 32 on each guide, taken with the parallel vertical middle wall 33 give considerable strength and rigidity so that the guides may be made of fairly light sheet metal. The marginal frame I1 of the tray is grooved longitudinally as indicated at 34 to accommodate the guides I4. In that way the guides arel concealed and the tray is disposed with the bottom thereof substantially ush with the bottom of the cabinet for neat appearance. In assembling, the guides are rst fastened to the cabinet bottom I5 by screws 28 and then the tray 1 is placed on the extended guides and fastened thereto by means of the screws 29.

The fall support I5 comprises an arm 35 pivoted at one end as at 36 to one end of a. plate 31 fastened in a recess 38 along one end of the drawer front II which constitutes the fall. The plate 31 has a longitudinal flange 39 which in the lowered position of the fall comes into abutment with the lower edge of the arm as appears in Fig. l, for support of the fall. A stud 40 on the other end of the arm 35 works in a slot 4I provided in a keeper plate 42 fastened to the adjacent end of the tray 1. The outer end portion 43 of the arm 35 extends at an obtuse angle relative to the inner end portion to allow for the fact that the fall when swung down is disposed in a plane below the plane of the tray (see Fig. 1) The tray is recessed as indicated at 44 to accommodate the stud 40 and also two springs 45 and 46'which are fastened in place behind the plate 42 by one of the screws 41 used for fastening the plate to the tray. The slot 4I is a bayonet slot, having the rear end 48 offset upwardly, as clearly appears in Figs. 1 and 2, and the stud 49 is adapted to ride up into the offset end 45 to lock the fall releasably in raised position to serve as a drawer front, as shown in Fig. 2. 'Ihe spring 45 is generally V- shaped with the crotch or bight portion 49 thereof fitting around the screw 41 and with the arm 50 thereof supported by its bent end 5I on the bottom pf the recess 44 so that the long arm 52 is normally urged upwardly against the bottom of the stud 40. The latter is grooved transversely on the bottom, as at 53, to receive the arm 52 of the spring 45, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to insure keeping the stud and arm in operating relationship at al1 times. The spring 45 therefore keeps the stud 40 engaged in the oiset end 49 of the slot 4I securely enough to permit sliding the tray 1 in or out by means of the pull 54 on the front, but

when the tray is pulled out and fairly light downward pressure is applied on the arm 35, the stud 40 can be disengaged from the offset end of the slot 4I so that the fall can be lowered to extended horizontal position. The arm 52 has its free end 54 bent laterally into engagement with the inside of the plate 42 so as to keep the arm 52 in spaced relation to the plate and hold the arm 35 by means of the stud 40 in engagement with the outer side of the plate 42. The arm 52 by reason of its sliding engagement with the groove in the stud 40 provides some frictional drag resisting downward movement of the fall to keep it from dropping with a jar. However, I prefer to provide the separate shock absorbing spring 45 which is here shown as a coiled compression spring encircling the inner is no likelihood of unduestrain being imposed upon the hinges I2.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of my invention. 'Ihe appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of each of said members, one of said plates having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein with an oiset portion at one end, the other of said plates having a' longitudinally extending flange provided thereon, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the anged plate adjacent the end remote from the hinge axis and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the slotted plate, said arm being arranged to support the fall in extended relation to the bottom by engagement with the aforesaid longitudinal ilange, and spring means for urging said arm in one direction transversely relative to the slot so as to cause the stud to engage in the offset end of the slot when the fall and bottom members are in planes substantially perpendicular to one another.

2. A fall support as set forth in claim l, including other spring means for lcushioning the movement of said fall member toward its other extreme position relative to the bottom member.

3. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of each of said members, one of said plates having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein with an offset portion at one end, the other of said plates having a longitudinally extending ange provided thereon, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the anged plate adjacent the end remote from the hinge axis and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the slotted plate, said arm being arranged to support the fall in extended relation to the bottom by engagement with the aforesaid longitudinal flange, said stud being arranged to engage in the offset end of the slot to hold said fall and Ibottom members releasably in planes substantially perpendicular to one another, and spring means for cushioning the movement of said fall member toward its other extreme position relative to the bottom member.

4. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an4 elongated plate attached to the edge of one` of said members having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein with an offset portion at one end, another plate attached to the edge of-the other of said members, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the latter plate and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the rst plate, spring means associated with said slotted plate and cooperating with said stud to hold the latter engaged in the olset end of said slot to lock the fall and bottom members releasably in one limit position relative to one another, and means combined with said spring means for engagement with the stud when the latter approaches the opposite end of the slot to cushion the movement of the fall member toward its other extreme position relative to the bottom member.

5. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of one of said members having a longitudinally extending slot provided thereinl with an oifset portion at one end, another plate attached to the edge of the other of said members, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the latter plate and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the rst plate, an elongated spring arm mounted alongside said slotted plate lengths wise relative to the slot and slidably engaged by said stud so as to urge the latter into the oset end of the slot when the fall and bottom members are in one extreme position relative to one another to lock the same releasably in such relationship, and a coiled compression spring surrounding the spring arm at the other end of the slot and arranged to be engaged and compressed by the stud in its movement to that end of the slot when the fall member is moved to its other extreme position, whereby to cushion the movement thereof.

6. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of one of said members having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein with an offset portion at one end, another plate attached to the edge of the other of said members, an arm pivotally connected at one end to lthe latter plate and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the rst plate, and an elongated spring arm mounted alongside said slotted plate lengthwise relativeto the slot and slidably engaged by said stud so as to urgerthe latter into the offset end of the slot when the fall and bottom members are in one extreme position relative to one another to lock the same releasably in such relationship, said stud having a transverse groove provided therein slidably receiving said spring arm to keep the stud and spring arm in operative relationship, and said spring arm being mounted in flxed assembled relation to the inner side of said slotted plate so as -to hold said stud in fthe slot and keep the arm carrying the same in close relationship to the outer side of said slotted plate.

7. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of one of said members having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein with an oiset portion at one end, another plate attached to the edge of the other of said members, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the latter plate and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the first plate, and an elongated spring arm mounted alongside said slotted plate lengthwise relative to the slot and slidably engaged by said stud so as -to urge the latter into the ollset end of fthe slot when the fall and bottom members are in one extreme position relative to one another -to lock the same releasably in such relationship, said stud having a transverse grooveA provided therein slidably receiving said spring arm to keep the stud and spring arm in operative relationship, and said spring arm being mounted in ilxed assembled relation to the inner side of said slotted plate so as to hold said stud in the slot and keep the arm carrying the same in close relationship to the outer side of said slotted plate, and a coiled compression spring surrounding the spring arm at the other end of the slot and arranged to be engaged and compressed by the stud in its movement to -that end of the slot when the fall member is moved to its other extreme position, whereby to cushion the movement thereof.

8. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member, an elongated plate attached to the edge of each of said members, one of said plates having a longitudinally extending slot provided therein, the other of said plates having a longitudinally extending flange provided thereon, an arm pivotally connected at one end to the flanged plate adjacent the end remote from 'the hinge axis and having a stud slidably and pivotally received in the slot of the slotted plate, said arm being arranged to support the fall in extended relation rto the bottom by engagement with the aforesaid longitudinal flange, and said fall support comprising means for releasably locking the fall inbottom.

10. A fall support comprising in combination with a bottom member and a hinged fall member,

an elongated plate attached to the edge of eachy 10 tive to the bottom.

assauts tion of said arm being in oblique angular relation to lthe other end portion of said arm and being arranged in the extended position of the fall reiative to the bottom to lie in engagement withthe aforesaid longitudinal flange so as to support vthefall in extended position. 11. A fall support as set forth in claim 10 including yieldable means for cushioning the movement of the fall to extended position rela- AXEL R. CARLSOAN. 

